How to Beat Jet Lag: U.S. to Asia

There are so many things to love about traveling internationally, but there’s one big thing to hate: JET LAG. Who wants to wake up at odd hours of the night, unable to fall back asleep? Who wants to spend half the day wishing they were asleep when they should be enjoying the sunlight? The shorter the trip, the more imperative it is to conquer jet lag ASAP.

When I traveled to Asia for the first time, I had the honor of encountering my most challenging time-zone difference so far: 13 hours. Thailand is 13 hours ahead of my home in Kansas City, Missouri. Needless to say, I was not looking forward to this experience. To make matters more confusing, I was traveling east-west and thus crossing the international date line.

My flight from Chicago to Hong Kong left at 1:25 p.m. CST and arrived at 7:20 p.m. Hong Kong local time. I can’t even figure out how many hours that was, because it makes my head hurt. In any case, I still had a 3-hour flight to Bangkok that landed at 1 a.m. local time.

By the time I made it to my hotel at 2 a.m., I quickly fell asleep and slept until 9:30 a.m. the next morning. No jet lag. It never reared its ugly head during the entirety of my trip. Remember, on my “normal” time schedule, that would be like me going to bed at 1 p.m. and waking up at 8:30 p.m.

So how did I beat jet lag U.S. to Asia, and how can you do it too?

1. Be willing to torture yourself

This is THE MOST important thing. This is really the only step. All the other steps are just related to this one.

The earlier you can get yourself ready for your new time zone, the better. For me, that meant booking a flight from Kansas City-Chicago the night before and staying up ALL NIGHT so I was as tired as I could possibly be before I boarded my Chicago-Hong Kong flight. Although it actually felt like torture, I reminded myself that it was the middle of the day in Thailand, so I needed to get used to being awake.

I also prepared for that all-nighter a bit in advance — that morning, I woke myself up at 3 a.m. and attempted to take a long nap in the afternoon. That gave me just a bit more energy in order to make it through the night.

Yes, it’s going to suck really bad. But it’s better to be grumpy and sleep deprived when all you have to do is sit on a plane, rather than while you’re actually on your vacation.

1a. Sleep when it’s nighttime in your destination

Some people can’t sleep on planes. I usually can’t when I go to Europe. But the thing about traveling between the U.S. and Asia is that the flight is so damn long that you have so many opportunities to sleep. 18 hours on the plane? Most people don’t go much longer than 18 hours without sleeping in regular life.

If you stayed up all night in preparation, you’ll have an easier time. Take some benadryl or melatonin to make you drowsy if it helps. (Some people swear by drinking alcohol, but I don’t really do this when flying so I can’t say how well it works.) If the plane has the cabin lights on, get out your sunglasses. It helps a little bit.

Even if you can squeeze in 4-5 hours of interrupted sleep, you’ll be better off than if you hadn’t slept at all.

1b. Stay awake when it’s daytime in your destination

Maybe you don’t have a problem sleeping on planes. Maybe you’re like the woman who sat next to me and proceeded to sleep for THE ENTIRE 18 hours. (“Planes are just like a giant cradle for me. I pass right out.”) But you must fight, fight, resist this urge. Chug all the coffee. Download all the Netflix. Watch all the movies, pay for all the Wi-Fi, read all the books, eat all the snacks, etc. Do whatever it takes to stay awake.

Now, if you get really tired, like can’t-keep-your-eyes-open-for-another-second tired, allow yourself a brief nap of 20-30 minutes. It should be enough to take the edge off. Don’t forget to set your alarm!

1c. When you arrive, acclimate as quickly as possible

All right! You followed step #1 and all its sub-steps! It’s 2 a.m. local time and you just got to your hotel. Don’t undo all your hard work by sleeping too long. Try to sleep for a normal amount of time for you, plus maybe an hour. Hopefully, it isn’t too hard to wake up — because your vacation has finally started and it’s time to have some fun!

Find things to do on your trip.

 

What are your best strategies for beating jet lag, especially jet lag U.S. to Asia? Let me know in the comments!

-Cathy

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Originally Published on December 7, 2017.